crying lightning
by scintilliated
Summary: They say all's fair in love and war. Lily Evans knows better.
1. prologue:

**Prologue: yesterday / let's head over to tomorrow**

 _Ring-a-ring o' roses,_ _  
_ _A pocket full of posies,_

It was the small things that infuriated her.

It was the way that he scribbled intricate doodles on the side of his parchment while the professor was talking, accompanied by an occasional clicking of the tongue. It was the way a smirk curved upon his lips as he noticed her eyes shooting lightning. It was the way _it_ did a small one-two-three as he shot a dazzling grin. It was the way he ignored everything that was going on around him. It was the way he gazed at her with concern and caring and everything he _shouldn't_ have been looking at her with.

(It was the way she shot the same look back at him)

 _Ashes, ashes,_

The big things terrified her.

The way the word oh-so-casually slid out of their ( _his)_ mouth like four-five-six, the way fear stealthily took a spot in the back of everyone's minds, the way people flickered out like candles on a birthday cake- the way that people twisted and changed from what they had been to what lurked in the darkness. The world that she had become so fascinated with had changed from a fairytale to a nightmare.

 _Theatrics._ That's all everyone was doing, really. Just playing a silly game. Biding their time until- swoosh! They were dead, a flash of emerald being their final sight.

(Her eyes were emerald.)

 _We all fall down._

Some people said it began when the first curse slipped past _someone's_ lips as quickly as seven-eight-nine, striking the other square in the chest. Others said no, that couldn't have been the start. The first spell was unknown to all, forever lurking beyond reach. The only one who really knew of the fine details was the one who had uttered it, as it would haunt them forever.

( "I'm sorry.")

Others argue that it started with the first murder. The first murder was blatantly publicized, spread so far and wide that any ordinary person could recite the information like ten-eleven-twelve (that was their fatal mistake). Yet most of the details were kept locked up, and only the most important people could have access to the information. Only a year later was all that thrown to the winds when death was an everyday occurrence. Nobody cared about the first anymore- it had become one among hundreds.

("Avada Kedavra!")

Yet others think the beginning started with the threat. Not even children were safe- no, children egged it on, letting the madness and disease run rampant. Not one person considered the consequences (some _thought_ they did). Instead, they turned against one another instead of bonding together (that was definitely the worst mistake made.)

Nobody was considerate enough, conscious enough, clever enough (or so they thought). Some thought they could beat death. They didn't. Others thought they could run from it all. They couldn't.

A few, a tiny group, thought they could fight.

They lost.

("Beware _Mudbloods_.")


	2. day tripper

**day tripper / an adventure of slight extremes**

Lily Evans was far from extraordinary.

That didn't mean she was _normal-_ according to her bossy, haughty, annoying sister (who she would die for), the slight redhead was nothing more than a _freak_ , an _abnormality,_ a person who should have been locked up and kept away from the rest of the normal people in the world. Lily never took it to heart, of course.

(Except those rare moments when she did)

So when her alarm clock went off in the morning, a flashy red with smiley-faced stickers from when she was but a teensy toddler, Lily tumbled out of bed, as ordinary as could be. Her hair was amess with knots and tangles, _(emerald)_ eyes dull with sleep, just the average sixteen year old.

Stumbling over to the bathroom, it took Lily more than a few attempts to splash water on her face- the girl had never been the lightest of sleepers (the opposite, in fact). It was what had made her so susceptible to pranks back when her and Tuney (no, Petunia, she had to remember) were on better terms. That had been a while back;the days of giggling wildly and shoving each other playfully were long gone. A smile curved up her lips as Lily cast her mind back, an image of a little redhead's cheeks blowing up and puffing out a burst of air onto a tenth birthday cake, shooting a toothy grin at a reluctantly smiling Petunia.

"Lily!" An orotund voice shattered the girl's thoughts, and it was with the slightest bit of nostalgia that Lily trudged downstairs, eyes heavy with sleep long gone.

As she pushed the door open, the sight in front of Lily was one that pushed a breath of laughter out of her mouth- a tiny squeak, barely enough to be heard, yet it was enough to freeze the scene. The other's mouth, held in a wide, chocolate stained grin, quickly dropped to form a typical furrow.

"Petunia, do you want-" Their mother, cheerful as always, froze as she walked into the unmoving setting. Petunia, with her deep frown and haughty expression; Lily with her teeth gnawing on her lip and a glare hiding in her eyes. "Oh, Lily dear!" A nervous chuckle. "Wait, why aren't you ready? You have to be at the station in-" Here she checked her watch. "Half a hour!"

Lily's eyes widened, and with a slight shriek, the girl dashed upstairs. Thankfully, she had already packed her belongings weeks in advance, a pristine badge the only thing left on her dresser.

In a matter of seconds, minutes, the ginger had gotten dressed, skillfully avoiding the various mishaps of accidentally shoving her arms through a head hole, or wearing the shirt inside out (as had happened a bit too many times before). While the girl was a perfectionist of sorts, oversleeping had happened a bit too many times for her to ignore. Her father, Cole Evans, was the sort to stay up till the crack of dawn and snooze the day away. Lily, unluckily, had inherited that trait, something which clashed with her personality in all sorts. It was because of this that she spent half the night tossing and turning- during exams, sleep was the farthest thing on her mind, causing Tilly to be the one to force her to doze.

Spending a quick moment in front of the mirror, quickly running a comb through her fiery locks, Lily dashed down the stairs, her trunk thumping down each with a bump. Internally the witch cringed- her meticulous packing was becoming jumbled inside of the tumbling case. She'd have to do some extreme damage control at Hogwarts.

As she dashed by her mum, Lily shoved a pancake lying abandoned on a plate into her hand, Petunia sending her an angry glare. "Come _on_ mum," groaned the witch.

"One second!" Katie Evans fumbled with her keys for a moment, then with a wave to the frowning figure at the counter, she strode outside door slamming as she sat in the car. Lily joined her in the passenger's side, and with finesse, the two set off.

"Just ignore her," Katie said after a few minutes of silence. "You know she doesn't mean any of it."

Lily inhaled sharply. No matter what her mum was convinced of, she knew that Petunia would always consider her an abomination. It wasn't her fault she was born with magic running through her veins, something so different and special being a part of her- it wasn't her fault Petunia didn't have that too. It wasn't her freaking fault that her sister hated her. It most certainly wasn't her fault that she went away to a boarding school every year and that Petunia didn't bother to send a single letter.

"Okay." They both could tell that Lily was shutting the conversation down, and the rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

As the car pulled to a stop in front of King's Cross, Katie smiled, lips pursed too much to be genuine. "Do you need me to help you bring your things?" she asked, a look of worry in her eyes.

"No thanks, mum. I'll be fine."

"Okay."

With a sudden lunge, Mrs. Evans gripped her daughter tightly, engulfing her in a hug. "Be careful, okay?" Warm eyes were filled with worry, and Lily was filled with a sudden rush of love for her mother. Sinking into the hug, all she could do was nod, and the two remained in their position for a while until Lily gently pulled back.

"I better get going now, see you at Christmas!" Before her mother could say goodbye, Lily swung out of the car, grabbing her trunk out of the back space of the car. Dragging her things behind her, the girl gave her mum a cheerful wave as she strode inside the station. Lily was quite glad she had no pets to drag along with her- it would have been amazingly hard to remain inconspicuous, especially with her giant trunk so unlike the tiny bags that the muggles had brought with them.

There was a skip to her step as the redhead entered the station, a whole change in her demeanor. Lily Evans was the odd puzzle piece tossed aside in the Muggle world, and _here,_ where witches and wizards lay, well- that was where she really belonged.

Few things made a grin of laughter erupt on their face. Few things caused a glint of happiness to shimmer in their eyes. Few things caused them to love.

 _(Who were they?)_

One after another tossed aside, a mere splash of color on the painting of life. There were the the blazing reds, the furies of the world, the slashes and bold lines. There were the soft purples, lilac and sweet, innocence being enveloped and destroyed. And then there was the black- maleficent, stinging with evil, seeping across the portrait and leaving no one, nothing in this path.

It was a shame that others spent all their time in ignorance, in adolescent wanderings and giggles of laughter that would soon die out, in glances across the corridors and rose red cheeks.

Because while some wanted to pretend, he preferred to _imagine._


End file.
